Multiple services operators (MSOs) are now capable of providing many services in addition to broadcast audio/video signals over their existing systems. Some advanced services in a broadband communications system provide conventional cable television signals along with other telephony services, such as high-speed data and telephone. To support these additional services, cable modems and media terminal adapters (MTAs), which is also known as embedded media terminal adapters (EMTAs) when the cable modem is included in an MTA, are used in the subscriber's premises and have typically been coupled with coaxial cable to a communications network. U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,011 to Loveless, the disclosure and teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference, shows an example of a hybrid fiber/coaxial (HFC) communications network that could be used to implement the present invention.
Public switched telephone networks (PSTNs) traditionally carry voice signals using a circuit-switched infrastructure. This infrastructure lends itself easily to a Network Operation Center (NOC) intercepting a call that is in progress at multiple points throughout the network to assess the voice quality. On the other hand, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network in a broadband communications system uses IP packets to route telephone calls. Due to the nature of IP packet routing, which can take many different paths in the system, it is extremely difficult to intercept a call and determine possible problems.
Thus, there exists a need for a more efficient system and method of intercepting a telephone call in a VoIP communications system.